Artists

In Ohworode, Leila Ruru Ogbon (she/her) explores her family history and questions of identity and belonging. The work begins with photographs of her Nigerian grandfather Richard Ogbon, who served as the twelfth Ohworode, the traditional ruler of Olomu, from 1988 to 2023, and whom she never met. Following a journey to Nigeria, Lena began approaching his story through images, family narratives and historical sources. Using experimental printing techniques and textiles, she translates archival photographs into a personal visual language. Rather than filling the archive’s gaps with a single truth, she creates a space between memory, research and interpretation in which family history can be encountered anew. Ohworode thus also becomes a search for her own relationship to heritage and belonging.

How do you deal with gaps in an archive when you haven’t experienced the history it holds yourself?
I never met my Nigerian grandfather, so I learn about him through photographs, texts and stories told by others. There will always be a gap. Rather than trying to fill it completely, I try to find my own language for what I feel. The printing techniques became a way for me to approach my grandfather through the means available to me.

What does the process of cyanotype mean to you?
There is something very physical about it. I had to slowly find my way towards the right exposure times and processes. This careful way of working also became a form of processing and caring for the archive of memories and photographs. While washing the prints, I felt as though I was washing away some of my questions and allowing new insights to take their place.